ice hockey

Most contact sports today require players to wear a helmet. Cyclists and skiers wear them to protect from serious injury if they fall. While helmet technology has come a long way, there is still a push to make sure that they are providing as much protection as possible.

Dr. Stefan Duma is a professor of engineering and the founding director of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest Center for Injury Biomechanics. Duma joins us to discuss his research and the STAR safety rating system given to hockey and football helmets.

Since it was formed in 2011, the Syracuse Stampede have called Baldwinsville and later Morrisville home. Now the North American 3 Junior Hockey League team is coming to the Anthony Crisafulli Rink, or "The Fort," in Oswego.

General Manager and Coach Mike Beavis says the new location is a better fit for their 25 players.

The Mohawk Valley has had a hockey team for most of the last 90 years, but 1993 was the last time a professional hockey team took to the ice in Utica. Earlier this year, the city landed a new American Hockey League team, called the Utica Comets, and a chance to bring more than just hockey back to the city.

Frank DuRoss is co-owner of the new Utica Comets, a Vancouver Canucks affiliate. He says the new AHL team is one of many things giving the region a reason to cheer.